Journal Entry 12

Select two of the following questions and create a well thought out response. Use the text to help you- ask others to add imput where you are unsure.


1. Who is Scyld? Where does he come from? Where does he go? What does he do? Why does the poem begin here, rather than with Hrothgar and Grendel?
2. What is Grendel's lineage? What do the characters in the poem know about Grendel? How is this different from what we know?
3. Trace the history of the hall Heorot--why was it built, what happened within its walls, how and by whom was it destroyed?
4. Who is Unferth, and why is he so hostile to Beowulf? Why is he allowed to speak that way?
5. What do the poets within Beowulf sing about? To whom do they sing their songs? What is the purpose of their performances?